Unexpected Help

I must say that since my surgery, I haven't been myself. I was hoping that the surgery would be sort of a miracle. However, it hasn't exactly been a cure all remedy. Although, I am better in some aspects, I still have quite a bit of pain. Thus, I have been a bit depressed of late, frustrated that I'm not 100% back to normal. But, Jehovah is never very far away and always provides what I need.

I'll give you an example of what I mean. In the midst of truly feeling sorry for myself, I was able to go out in the ministry, prepared to the hilt with book bag full of books, magazines, tracts. You wouldn't believe the morning I had! I placed every book (3), every magazine (16 in all) and ended up having to resort to placing tracts because I didn't have anything left. It was such an encouraging morning. Then Saturday, I decided to meet with another service group and was assigned to go out in service with Rosario (Charo). Rosario is an elderly sister, widowed and very shy. We did some "Not at Homes" with the memorial invitation and then Charo invited me to go on a bible study. To my surprise, her bible study is a 16 year old boy. We studied in a little classroom for kindergarten children and sat on the little chairs (can you imagine this body on a child's chair? Funny.) Anyway, the study whose name is Jaime is a very intelligent young man and really appreciates Charo coming to give him the study. I was amazed just watching the two of them. Charo was struggling a bit with trying to explain some difficult scriptures and Jaime was patient willing to wait and learn. He was so respectful to her and even had some very well thought out questions. Charo's love for Jehovah and sincerity came through and I felt blessed to be able to just sit and take it all in. After the study I was feeling so happy and then all of the sudden, Charo grabs me and gives me a big hug. She says she appreciated my helping her with the study. Believe me, I did nothing but sit like a lump on a log and watch in amazement her talents. She invited me to come again with her on the study next week. Needless to say, I came home fully refreshed and happy, grateful that I have the privilege to serve here in Cuenca. Even with the problems, (which we would have no matter where we live) the ministry and the experiences we have here are truly keep us going.

Circuit Assembly

Last week we had our circuit assembly "Keep Conquering the Evil with the Good" (Romans 12:21). Of course, the entire assembly was amazingly encouraging. But, I thought I would highlight a few things that really touched our heart.

For those of you that visited us 11 years ago, you may have met Maria and her grandson Cristian. Maria cleaned our house and she would bring her 3 year grandson Cristian with her. Cristian's mother abandoned him and Maria was raising him as her own son. We got very close to him and have watched him grow up. In the first picture, Cristian, now a baptized brother, is on stage being interviewed (he is on the right). It brought tears to our eyes to see how much he has progressed. The second picture is of the Ablett family that I mentioned in an earlier blog. They are from Queensland, Australia. Although they are on holiday, they took time out to come to the assembly. Great for them since they don't speak the language yet. The third picture (does anyone recognize who is on stage?) is of Patricia Ponton. Patricia is a single sister who has been pioneering 13 years. She is on stage with one of her bible studies that is now a sister. A very encouraging experience.

We learned this weekend that in our circuit there are 50 new pioneers, 5 new elders, 3 new isolated groups, 2 graduates from MTS and 18 baptized.

It truly was a great weekend!

Update

We are having a very nice week. Our congregation is hosting the Circuit Overseer and wife this week. Our CA is this weekend. That means we have our circuit wide pioneer meeting. Something that I really needed since things have been rough around here lately. It was such an encouraging meeting. Sadly, Mark couldn't attend because he was sick with pneumonia. He is much better now.

We met a family from Australia that is visiting. Paul, Nora and Laura Ablett. They wrote me an email after reading my blog (I guess this blog serves some purpose) and said they would be in Cuenca and wanted to know where our hall is located and meeting times. They came to the meeting Tuesday night and went out in the ministry with us on Thursday. Oh what a great day in the ministry! I guess everyone is so happy to finally see some sunshine that they were all nice and receptive. I ended up placing all my magazines and a book. One guy asked where the KH was located and wants to come to the meetings and another woman stopped working in her field to come and talk to us and was very nice. It was so encouraging! The Abletts are planning to go to the assembly with us this weekend. That's great since they are just learning the language and probably won't understand much. But, the love of the brotherhood will shine through. I'll try to remember to get a photo of them this weekend so you guys can meet them too. Hasta luego.

A Message for Beth

Beth, I thought you might like to see some familiar faces. I took this picture today at the study. Esperanza and Amelia both send "saludos" to you and are looking forward to your return. They are doing great. Today, Esperanza expressed appreciation for Jesus' sacrifice and had tears in her eyes. She really thinks and meditates on what she is learning and her questions are thoughtful and meaningful. Hope you enjoy seeing the fruitage of your hard work here in Ecuador. MISS YOU!

We're Back on Line

Hi Everyone. I haven't been able to post for a while. Our Internet has been on the blink again and we just got in back on today. So, it's time to catch up a bit.

Mark and I will be interviewed on the upcoming Circuit Assembly and we always enjoy that. We were scheduled for a rehearsal Monday, but Mark was too ill to go. We took him to the doctor and it turns out he has pneumonia. The doc told him he can't work for a week, to stay in bed and drink plenty of water or he will put him in the hospital. Amazingly, Mark is obeying doctor's orders. As of today, he is feeling better, but still weak. Please keep us in your prayers.